The tallest new development overlooking any BeltLine segment not named the Eastside Trail is quickly climbing toward its ultimate height on Atlanta’s southside.
Skyline Apartments, a Peoplestown venture led by New York-based developer Exact Capital Group and Aleem Construction, has about three stories of vertical construction to go before topping out, according to a recent site visit. It’s expected to offer exclusively affordable housing, thanks to financial help from both city and state coffers.
The 11-story project has claimed a vacant lot at 1090 Hank Aaron Drive, just east of the downtown Connector. Directly across the street, an adaptive-reuse food hall and office venture, Terminal South, has recently signed more tenants in hopes of opening next summer.
Both projects, located about two miles south of downtown Atlanta, are expected to be served by MARTA’s first bus-rapid transit service line come 2025.
As seen from the north, view of the Skyline Apartments project (at left) and its proximity to the Terminal South food hall and office proposal across Hank Aaron Drive. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Situated just north of the Southside Trail corridor, the Skyline Apartments’ 250 rentals will be reserved for tenants earning 60 percent or less of the area's median income for at least 15 years, according to Atlanta BeltLine Inc. officials.
Plans call for 46 studios, 101 one-bedroom rentals, and 103 two-bedrooms. A retail component that BeltLine officials have described as “small” is also in the mix.
Amenities at the Skyline complex are expected to include a fitness center, outdoor pavilion, centralized laundry facilities, and access to the aforementioned public transportation in two years.
The rising 11-story building as seen from the south, where Hank Aaron Drive meets McDonough Boulevard atop the Southside Trail corridor. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
How the 250-unit Skyline project will front Hank Aaron Drive in Peoplestown. Rendering courtesy of Exact Capital
The BeltLine contributed $2 million toward the Skyline project—sourced from the Atlanta BeltLine Affordable Housing Trust Fund, or BAHTF. Beyond that contribution, Exact Capital received a tax-exempt bond from Invest Atlanta’s Urban Residential Finance Authority and low-income housing tax credits from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, among other funding.
The BeltLine Southside Trail segment in question—currently open for public use (sort of) in an unpaved, interim state between the Connector and Boulevard—is scheduled to be bid out for construction next month. A $16.5-million RAISE grant from U.S. Department of Transportation awarded in November last year will help fund the building of that segment and others.
Meanwhile, just to the east of the Skyline site, more than 900 apartments and townhomes have sprung up in three separate developments along the BeltLine corridor over the past two years.
Much more residential development is also underway or has recently delivered along the unpaved Southside Trail corridor to the east, toward Grant Park, including a massive community of for-sale condos. To the west in Capitol View, a 325-unit apartment project called The Vivian is taking shape along the Southside Trail’s first completed mile now.
The Skyline Apartments started construction at the end of winter last year. By Thanksgiving, the building was just one story out of the ground.
BeltLine officials have said the project is scheduled to deliver sometime in 2023, but that outlook appears to be in jeopardy with five months remaining in the year and several stories of vertical construction to go.
In any case, have a closer look at where the project stands today in the gallery above.
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